Square 9 ECM Blog

The Art of Doing More with Less

Minimalism, as a concept, is a tool that can be used to better serve the goals you’re looking to accomplish. Minimalism can be used for personal goals that range from minimizing the amount of needless things in your home, to the conscious evaluation of the value you put on objects. This practice allows you to better understand how you’ve become accustomed to an inefficient way of living and in turn, help you break out of bad habits. These same principles can be applied to the way you work. Whether you’ve already adopted the minimalist lifestyle and see its benefits, or you’re in need of some clarity in your professional life, minimalism is the perfect place to begin. Let’s explore how minimalism can provide you with the tools you need to be successful in your workplace. The following key concepts will get you thinking.

1. Declutter your Physical Space

The best place to begin “getting back to basics” is to declutter your office space. Like many business professionals, chances are, you’ve become dependent on printing out documents and filing hard copies. Though it may seem like a great feat, reducing the amount of paper and clutter in your space is proven to alleviate stress and allow for a more focused work environment. When you’re ready to declutter, start small. The items on your desk is a good place to start. Before organizing your paperwork, evaluate what you have. If you can access a digital version of a file you have on hand, you can probably reduce those printed versions. Often, it is thought that physical documents hold value because they’re tangible. Let’s break that thinking and remember that digital information is just as valuable and takes up much less space.

2. Adapting to New Ways of Doing Things

An essential part of adopting the minimalist lifestyle is growing accustomed to a new way of doing things. Although this point may seem vague, that’s because it can apply to any aspect of your lifestyle that you’d like to improve. This also goes for the way you work. More often than not, when it comes to adapting in the workplace you’re left dealing with new organizational systems and new software. And although these two points, on the surface, are supposed to make your life simpler and more efficient, there are many ways that these processes in and of themselves can be counterproductive to your search for simplicity. Whether you’re struggling with a software’s specific features or the organizational system that has been implemented just doesn’t work for you, there is a solution! First, take a step back and evaluate the systems or processes that are not working for you. Next, think about how these processes can be simplified. Whether you’re looking to implement your own, personal system or your software is in need of an update, do what works best for you.

3. More Time to Do What Matters

Now that you’ve reached a point where you understand the basic principles of a minimalistic lifestyle, you can reap the rewards! Once your space is clutter free and you’ve come to terms with the fact that the only constant is change, you’ll be that much closer to spending more time doing what matters most. As a business professional, consider all of the aspects of your work that you’ve been dying to tackle. Now, you can focus on your team, high level priorities, and developing a business strategy. But these improvements don’t just stop at you – implement these same minimalistic principles for your team and department. Freeing up time for all! More importantly, these principles can also give you back time in your personal life! With more time, money, and freedom thanks to your new lifestyle, you’ll be able to take on a new hobby or even begin to plan for your future! That’s how minimalism can simplify your business and your life.

If you find yourself worrying about whether you’re ready to make the commitment to a minimalist lifestyle, you’re probably overlooking the fact that minimalism is a journey. One that progresses over time. To reach your end goal, you must begin, and that usually means recognizing that there’s a problem. Once you’re able to identify the inefficiencies in your personal and professional life, you’ll be that much closer to reaching your goal of simplicity. If you’re looking for ECM solutions that will help declutter your space and boost efficiency, look no further than Square 9!